Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano Headlines MVP’s Historic MMA Event Streaming Live on Netflix
Los Angeles, CA — Combat sports legends gathered Tuesday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles as Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) held a press conference to promote its highly anticipated inaugural MMA event headlined by Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano. The historic fight card will take place Saturday, May 16, and will stream live globally exclusively on Netflix at no additional cost to its more than 300 million subscribers.
The bout marks a groundbreaking moment for both organizations, serving as MVP’s first MMA event and Netflix’s first-ever live MMA broadcast.
The press conference was hosted by renowned combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, and featured appearances from Rousey, Carano, heavyweight stars Francis Ngannou and Philipe Lins, as well as MVP co-founder Jake Paul.
Rousey and Carano Set for Historic Showdown
Former UFC champion and Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey (12-2) will return to professional MMA competition to face pioneering women’s MMA star Gina Carano (7-1) in a five-round bout under the Unified Rules of MMA using four-ounce gloves inside a hexagon cage.
For Rousey, the return to the sport came after rediscovering her passion for martial arts.
“I never thought I would come back. It didn’t cross my mind at all,” Rousey said.
She explained that reconnecting with the sport through coaching reignited her love for martial arts.
“Once I started getting deep into it again and explaining things, it made me fall in love with martial arts again. It reminded me of the joy that it gave me from the very beginning.”
The fight also represents a personal journey for both competitors.
“Once I found that love again and I saw her not doing well, I thought we both needed to reclaim our bodily identity together and rewrite our own ending together,” Rousey said.
Carano echoed that sentiment, revealing that Rousey’s request personally motivated her to step back into competition.
“Obviously the motivation is that Ronda personally asked me,” Carano said. “To share this moment with her and to be the one that she would come back for — she’s my one as well.”
The matchup had originally been discussed with the UFC before eventually finding a home with MVP and Netflix.
“I said to Dana [White], ‘I can do this on my own, but I would rather fight for you than fight for me,’” Rousey explained. “When it didn’t work out, we realized we could do this ourselves.”
Rousey believes the event could reshape the sport.
“What started as us finding our love for fighting again has turned into something much bigger,” she said. “Now it’s about changing the landscape of the sport.”
Ngannou Returns to MMA Against Lins
Also announced during the press conference was a massive heavyweight matchup between Francis Ngannou (18-3) and Brazil’s Philipe Lins (18-5).
The fight marks Ngannou’s highly anticipated return to MMA competition following his crossover into global boxing events and his dominant 2024 PFL Championship victory.
Ngannou explained that the opportunity came after realizing he would not be fighting again in the PFL.
“I found out in January that I wasn’t going to have another fight in the PFL, so I started looking for other options,” Ngannou said.
Originally, MVP proposed a matchup with kickboxing champion Ricardo “Rico” Verhoeven, but scheduling conflicts led to Lins stepping in.
Lins quickly accepted the opportunity.
“When my manager called and said I was going to fight Francis Ngannou live on Netflix, I said ‘Send the contract,’” Lins said.
The Brazilian veteran believes defeating Ngannou would cement his legacy.
“One victory over Francis will put my name in MMA history forever,” Lins said. “On May 16 live on Netflix, I’m going to shock the world.”
MVP Looks to Disrupt the MMA Landscape
MVP co-founder Jake Paul also spoke about the significance of the event and the promotion’s growing influence in combat sports.
“This is the MVP way,” Paul said. “Just four and a half years into building this company with Nakisa Bidarian and we’re already doing the first-ever MMA event live on Netflix with legends.”
Paul believes the company has an opportunity to reshape the sport’s business model.
“MMA is in a weird position right now,” he said. “It’s the wild west. We want to disrupt the space, put fighters first, and give them the pay and platform they deserve.”
Ngannou echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the importance of fighter independence.
“We are independent contractors,” Ngannou said. “If we don’t get what we deserve, we should have the right to look for other options.”
Event Details
The blockbuster event will take place May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, the home arena of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster, with additional bouts expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
With legendary names, historic implications, and the global reach of Netflix, the Rousey vs. Carano card could become one of the most widely viewed MMA events in history.
Fans can visit Netflix and click “Remind Me” to be notified when the live broadcast begins.
